Lindsay Whalen
(Born 1982)
Hall of Fame Induction: 2022
Card Shown: 2008 WNBA
Rittenhouse Archives
Position: PG
Height: 5’9″
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Lindsay Whalen is a Minnesota basketball legend. A native of Hutchinson, Lindsay brought success to the Minnesota Golden Gophers in college and later returned to help deliver four WNBA championships to Minnesota with her play on the Lynx. The floor general finished her WNBA career with averages of 11.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game and also won two gold medals for Team USA in the Olympics.
Awards and Honors
- Whalen was a collegiate star at the University of Minnesota, where she led the Golden Gophers to the Final Four in 2004. At Minnesota, she was First Team All-Big Ten three times and was named to an AP All-America team three times as well.
- During her 15 seasons in the WNBA, Lindsay played six years for the Connecticut Sun followed by nine years for her home state Minnesota Lynx. Teamed with Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus, Whalen and the Lynx won four WNBA championships in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Fellow Hall of Famer Sylvia Fowles was an important player in the final two championships.
- Lindsay was a five-time All-Star and and five-time All-WNBA (three First Team and two Second Team) during her career.
- Whalen helped Team USA win two gold medals at the Olympics in London in 2012 and in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
- In 2016, Lindsay was named to the WNBA 20@20 team which celebrated the top 20 WNBA players during the first 20 years of the league. Five years later, in 2021, she was selected to the W25.
Points of Interest
- Whalen was selected by the Connecticut Sun with the fourth overall pick in the first round of the 2004 WNBA Draft. Diana Taurasi, Alana Beard, and Nicole Powell were chosen before her.
- A guard who could score and create for others, Lindsay retired with the third most assists in WNBA history with 2,345.
- Whalen was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee in 2023.
- When Lindsay was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, her presenters were her two favorite players, Charles Barkley and Dawn Staley.
- Whalen returned to her alma mater to coach the University of Minnesota women’s basketball team in 2018 and coached there for five seasons.
Statistics
Lindsay Whalen Statistics
provided by Basketball-Reference.com
Personal Autograph Interaction
At the 2024 Hall of Fame Enshrinement weekend, Lindsay graciously signed two cards for me in the Mohegan Sun.
Thank you, Lindsay!
In-Person Autograph Photos
Lindsay signed a 2022 Panini Hall of Fame card and a 2010 Rittenhouse WNBA card for me.